Heart Internet’s Tips in Ten

Creating powerful headlinesYou’re just ten slides away from discovering how to craft

compelling headlines and titles.

Headlines 101

This deck covers:

• Theory behind headlines• Different approaches• Golden rules• Where these skills can be used• Some examples (good & bad!)

Headline theory

Headlines…

• Are the single most important part of any written communication

• Grab attention• Tell the whole story• Use simple language• Work best short (but don’t miss out key

information)

Approaches

Sensationalist – stats, drama Straight/hard sell – explicit, descriptive, no tricks

Wordplay – print, billboard advertising, banners

Approaches

Puns – sports media, red top press “How to” “X ways to” – suited to blog posts Cryptic – read/click bait titles (requires

research or knowledge)

Approaches

Delayed drop – real story is revealed later in text (be very careful)

Quote – provocative, controversial, sensationalist (grabs attention, “not my words”)

Images – newspapers predominantly

Words to live by

• Creating a news-style headline can help even if you’re not writing a journalism piece; it helps focus your mind and summarise your main point.

• Think about the brand and audience.• Don’t let the headline dictate the copy, they should

complement each other.• Never try to be too clever; simple is better.

You’re doing it right – sort of

Don’t give up

• Be flexible – if your headline isn’t right for just now, save it for future use.

• Don’t beat yourself up about the end result; classic lines are one in a million.

• Come back to it several times if needs be until you’re happy with the message and the tone.

Other areas to use these skills

Good headline writing practise can help with other pieces of copy, such as:

• Print ads• Infographics• Banner ads• Social media images and posts• Email marketing subject lines• Pitching work to externals• Blog post titles• Presentations

We don’t think they thought these through…